


Riding Herd

by Piff



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-11
Updated: 2018-01-11
Packaged: 2019-03-03 07:56:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13336800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Piff/pseuds/Piff
Summary: Being grounded sucks. Being worked to death during said grounding sucks more. But hey, silver lining!





	Riding Herd

With short, brisk strokes Jack slowly got the white mare looking just as clean and polished as a snowbank. The old thing was mostly asleep by the time he finished but hey.. He'd be asleep too if someone brushed his hair for four hours.

"Rotten little fink..."

It hadn't been THAT bad. 

A little mud never hurt anyone.

Leaving her to finish her doze, Jack grabbed his bucket of tools and quietly latched the door behind him. 

One down, four to go.

Jack sighed.

Ok, so a little bit of mud never hurt anyone but a LOT of mud was sure going to leave him sore. He could already feel it in his arms and back

Jack gave the large stallion a dirty look as he passed the next stall, the large white head hanging over the door and he KNEW that Blizzard was smirking as Jack entered the third stall.

Sleet was just as dirty as Flurry had been, and so was Dendrite and Powder and the littlest mare, Zastrugi.

The punishment was just beginning.

If he thought about it in percentages though, he was 20% done! That was a huge chunk! 

Starting with the metal comb, Jack attacked the dried mud that coated the mare from ears to hooves. 

"Next time, we'll wait till winter is PROPERLY started."

No more mud slides cause it was still too warm for a proper snow.

Still...

"Worth it," his whispered to the mare as she nudged him with her muzzle.

"And next time, we show those Nightmares a REAL party!"

Someone cleared their throat.

Jack winced. The mare winced. The stallion on the other side of the wall snickered.

Turning around, Jack smiled brightly at Grandfather. The Old Man of Winter had a beard much longer than North's, and while he was just as tall he was much skinnier. And sterner. And quieter.

"I uh... Hi. Grandfather. How are... things? I'm working hard, swear!" See? Look how hard he was working, brushing out all the dried mud!

"Mmmhm. _Next time_ you'll be properly outfitted and acting like the representative of winter you are. Not some young hooligan out for a joyride."

Wilting a bit under the intense glare, Jack didn't point out that he WAS young and most of the time a hooligan. He was already grounded, no need to make it worse. "....I'm sorry?"

When in doubt, apologize!

"Mmhm." The old man glared for another long, fidgety moment. "The General, the Lady, and I have come to the decision that you need more responsibilities. So starting tomorrow, or when you've finished your current chore, the General is going to teach you how to guide the herd. YOU will be in charge of starting Winter. When the time is right for it."

Oh HELL yeah! Finally they could see Jack was growing up! He was responsible now! He was a GUARDIAN after all and that meant he could handle stuff on his own!

This was awesome!

"...ow. Ow. OW!"

This was not awesome.

Old Man Winter pinched Jack's ear hard between boney fingers, and waited to be sure he had Jack's attention. "This is important Jack Frost. The ride should be thrilling enough for you, there will be no shenanigans. Do you understand? Do NOT disappoint us."

"Ow! Yeah, gotcha, perfectly clear Grandfather." Jack leaned up onto his toes with a whine, trying to relieve the pressure. "No fooling around!"

It was like no one trusted him! He was a Guardian now darnit! He'd faced down Pitch Black if they'd forgotten! But noooo, Jack you're in big trouble. Jack you're grounded. Jack don't forget to do your chores. Jack don't forget your curfew. Jack don't make it snow in July you muleheaded whelp! Jack don't throw snowballs at the Nightmares it only riles them up and then what will you do? 

He was a Guardian and Guardians shouldn't have so many rules.

Speaking of.

Wonder what the Guardians were doing. Did they use summer to take it easy too? He should probably ask. Send them a message or something. They were probably wondering where he'd run off to for the last few months.

**Author's Note:**

> So I have a ton of unfinished stories, some short and some massive. Should I put them up anyways?


End file.
